


Sherlock On The Ocean, When Nietzsche Wept

by Tendergingergirl



Series: Nietzsche, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Who [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-10 23:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17435309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tendergingergirl/pseuds/Tendergingergirl
Summary: December 11, 2017





	Sherlock On The Ocean, When Nietzsche Wept

## This is part of a series of meta, attempting to analyze S4, and parallels I found to the film, When Nietzsche Wept, a truly wonderful film that I recently watched while doing research on Nietzsche and his influence on Sherlock Holmes. After first tackling readings and documentaries, I really wanted to see a biography; see Nietzsche brought to life. What I found, were more puzzle pieces that fit not just into S4, but that go back as far as the beginning; all the way back to canon.

“Based on the novel of the same name, contemporary psychiatrist and fiction writer Dr. Irvin D. Yalom imposes his own rich imagination – and a bit of revisionist history – by introducing Friedrich Nietzsche to Vienna’s Dr. Josef Breuer, one of the earliest practitioners of psychotherapy, the new “talking cure.”he intended to show “how psychotherapy might have been invented under different circumstances.” In reality, Nietzsche and Breuer never met, but Yalom sees a connection; between the field of psychoanalysis in 1882, the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, and his metaphysical predecessors.”

“ _The history of our field doesn’t start with Freud_ ,” Yalom said. _“It starts with the ancient philosophers.”_ Yalom said, intoning such names as Epicurus, Democritus and Plato. For this book, he wanted to distill what Nietzsche had to say about human despair and suffering through the prism one of the first recognized psychoanalysts, Josef Breuer.“

**[Josef Breuer](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJosef_Breuer&t=NTU4NmYzMzBlMGIxMTYyMWU4YjhiYzc0ODY4Y2E2YjJkYjk2ODlmYSxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)** ˈ(15 January 1842 – 20 June 1925) was a distinguished Austrian physician who made key discoveries in neurophysiology, and whose work in the 1880s with his patient [Bertha Pappenheim](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBertha_Pappenheim&t=NDNhOTc3ZGFhYTg3YmQwNzM4MzUwNzc1ZjQ1Mjc5MjU5ZTc3ZmNkYyxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1), known as Anna O., developed the talking cure (cathartic method) and laid the foundation to psychoanalysis as developed by his protégé Sigmund Freud.

In real life, Friedrich suffered a breakdown soon after encountering a horse being beaten in the streets and becoming upset by it. In the film version’s Alternate Universe, Nietzsche meets with Breuer at the suggestion of a friend. Initially, turning down the Dr.’s help, he changes his mind after the horse encounter.

[**Lou Andreas-Salome**](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLou_Andreas-Salom%25C3%25A9&t=ZDRkMDlkYTRlZjQwMmI1NDE0OGUxMTZhZjk3Yjk5M2NhMDA1MmU1YSxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1) was an Opera singer, novelist, poet and famed Intellectual of the time, who had a platonic love affair with Friedrich. She was one of the first female psychoanalysts and one of the first women to write psychoanalytically on female sexuality. In the movie, she is instrumental in bringing Breuer and Nietzsche together. Cast as a femme fatale, able to charm both men, she meets Friedrich at one of his lectures. _“I was immediately attracted to him. Seduced by his intellect. We could say so much to each other with half sentences. Mere gestures.” **(“Brainy is the new Sexy!” ASiB)**_ She asks the Dr. to help Nietzsche with his suffering and despair, while pretending to merely treat his migraines.

 During an early visit, the Dr. asks Friedrich some personal questions. _“I must ask you a personal question. Physical wellbeing is not separable from social and psychological wellbeing. Is there someone with whom you have… You referring to sex…Doctor? Well…I have found that a flash of bestial pleasure is followed by hours of self-loathing, so, such herd pleasures are not for me. But is there a woman in your life? Every time I have attempted to build a footbridge to others, I have been betrayed."_ ****

**WATSON: Is it such a curious question?  
HOLMES: From a Viennese alienist, no; from a retired Army surgeon, most certainly.(TAB)**

**_*Note: Dr. Breuer’s office, in Vienna, was located in Bäckerstrasse._ **

_**Then, there are the dreams.**_ Many of them. Nightmares, where Breuer startles awake next to his wife, after dreaming of Anna O **(HLV)** In another, he and Nietzsche ride in a Swan Boat, and see a backwards clock, floating in the sky. As Dr. Josef spends an increasing amount of time on Nietzsche’s case, his wife complains bitterly on her neglect. **(“ _And am I just to sit here?”_ TAB)**

To gain Friedrich’s trust, ‘Sigi’ advices that Josef share his own painful secrets with the Philosopher, in order to get him to open up, **both becoming excited when speaking of the re-integration of ‘the Conscience and Un-Conscience’.** The Dr. admits falling in love with his patient, Anna O ** _(“I cheated”_ TLD)** He can’t stop thinking about her. In a scene where he lights a cigar, over-laid with another flame. He then imagines himself overcome with, after finding his wife has died in a house fire **(TAB & TST).** There is also a scene where the men decide to call each by their first names **(TAB)**

The Dr. expresses how his future was decided for him. He is un-fulfilled. **_(“I wanted more. I still do.”_ TLD)** During a therapy session, Breuer pictures Anna O, on a bed, wrapped in a white bed sheet **(ASiB) _”_** _And now his fear becomes so raw, that he welcomes lust into his mind. And he starts looking into this castle. He begins to spend his time recollecting these miracles. How his little crippled Bertha moves her legs. Her lips. And her arms. And her breasts. And his mind which was filled with the noblest of ideas becomes clogged now with trash. And that is how he is today. He’s just rummaging through the rubbish. Of Bertha.“ **("People fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish!” ASiB)**_

Dr. Josef later refuses to share information on Friedrich’s treatment with Salome, sensing her self-serving motives. **(ASiB).** In yet another dream, the Dr., dressed as a soldier, attempts suicide, fails, then begs a General, played by Nietzsche, to shoot him. **(TFP).** In a session, Nietzsche recounts a dream set in graveyard. **(TAB).** The Dr. recalls a nightmare, where he is falling down a well; his fall only stopped by a closed coffin. **(TFP** ***I won’t spoil what he finds*)** In several scenes, Josef is seen riding an endless train, in apparent despair. **(TEH)** Nietzsche gives Josef a brief lecture on Eternal Recurrence, **(TST)** a theme also highlighted in [59-the-cycle-of-life](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2F59-the-cycle-of-life&t=MTVhYzY2Njg2N2I5YTdmNTYyODc2YjkwOGQ5MzU2OGU3NmNjYzc3OCxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1) An interesting scene occurs when, disgusted with his life, Dr. Breuer hands his pocket watch to Sigmund Freud. Josef then leaves his family, and goes through a transformation, including getting his beard shaved off, and a job as a waiter… _Don’t make me say it again!_ **(TEH).**

Dr. Josef eventually resolves the situation with his life, realizing Anna O is not who he thought was **(TLD)** as Friedrich still slips further into his mind, in one scene, imagining himself conducting an orchestra, as he shouts out to Wagner. _“Anti-semite!” **(‘Once more, unto the breach, Dear friends. Once more!’ TLD) The ending is lovely. There is talk about not wanting to die, of the woman, and there is a hug.**_

I **_wish that the story were true because think it would have gone along similar lines as this test of fiction. There are still too many other subtle moments to categorize. The movie is very meta-full. What I liked most was while Nietzsche taught Breuer he always had choices and freedom to explore them, the good Dr. in turn gave Nietzsche a soft place to land._**

**_I have a follow-up piece to tie together the Mary Lucretia Meta with context and a theory about what I believe is going on._ **

 

The title is a play on words, dedicated to the STNG episode [**Darmok**.](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fentertainment%2Farchive%2F2014%2F06%2Fstar-trek-tng-and-the-limits-of-language-shaka-when-the-walls-fell%2F372107%2F&t=Yjg5ZjM5N2NlMzZmYjdmOTliZjM1MTdmNzQ1OGExNjc5MGRjOTA1NixmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1) 2 friends who face a shared enemy, and leave an island together.                               ****

_**“Darmok and Jalad, at Tanagra. Darmok and Jalad on the Ocean.”** _

[X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.viennareview.net%2Fvienna-review-book-reviews%2Fbook-reviews%2Ftalking-through-despair&t=NzhmY2YxOTdiZDQyNTFjODEzZDljYzZhMDNmMzhkZTY0OTZkYTc5MCxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJosef_Breuer&t=NTU4NmYzMzBlMGIxMTYyMWU4YjhiYzc0ODY4Y2E2YjJkYjk2ODlmYSxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fthinkchristian.reframemedia.com%2Fthe-danger-in-sherlocks-unconquerable-soul&t=NWUwYTVjMWIyZjllODM5ZTA3ZGVlNmQ2NjhiMmZkOGJhNTM4YWE1YSxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fbakerstreet.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FHolmesian_Speculation&t=NzAyNzdiOGFlYTcyM2UxMjk2ZmZhMWIxNDM5ZjA5ZTQxYjJjNWUxYixmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fweldbham.com%2Fblog%2F2012%2F09%2F05%2Fsuperman-is-really-sherlock-holmes%2F&t=YWUxNWYzNTY3Mzk1ZWEyMTMyNmEzZjNjOGNjOTlhNTgyMzMyYzA3MCxmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quora.com%2FWhy-did-Nietzsche-have-such-a-huge-mustache-Does-it-have-anything-to-do-with-his-philosophy&t=MjlkY2U4MGVhZjA0ZDFiNTllZmQyNDk2ZjNiMjYzMWY1MTRjNmRjYixmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1)  [X](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fentertainment%2Farchive%2F2014%2F06%2Fstar-trek-tng-and-the-limits-of-language-shaka-when-the-walls-fell%2F372107%2F&t=Yjg5ZjM5N2NlMzZmYjdmOTliZjM1MTdmNzQ1OGExNjc5MGRjOTA1NixmR0FrMmVqYQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A99US-dd59KEFK-T_oX2E5Q&p=https%3A%2F%2Ftendergingergirl.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168420317761%2Fsherlock-on-the-ocean-when-neitzsche-wept&m=1) 


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